Tension-regulating device for springs



.0. WOODWARD.

TENSION REGULATING DEVICE FOR SPRINGS.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 911919.

Patented Aug. 23, 1921..

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INVENTUR 0120" WITNESSES HIS ATTORNEY- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OSCAR WOODWARD, OF BABYLON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO REMINGTON TYPE- WRITER COMPANY, OF ILION, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

TENSION-REGULATING DEVICE FOR SPRINGS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug. 23, 1921.

Application filed January 9, 1919. Serial No. 270,817. 7

To all whom: it may concern:

Be it known that I, OSCAR WOODWARD, citizen of the United States, and resident of Babylon, in the county of Suffolk and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tension-Regulating Devices for Springs, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to tension regulating devices for springs, and its main object is to provide new and improved devices of the character specified.

To the above and other ends which will subsequently appear, my present invention consists in the features of construction, combinations of devices, and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of one form of my invention, said figure showing the tension regulating device and associate parts.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view, on an enlarged scale, takenon the plane indicated by the dotted line w w in Fig. 1 and looking downward.

Fig. 3 is a view corresponding to Fig. 2

but showing different relationships of some of the parts. Fig. 4C is a vertical sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on the plane indicated by the dotted line 3 y in Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrow'at said line.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of a modification.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4, 1 indicates a part capable of movement, in the present instance a dog rocker such as is found in the Remington typewriting machine. Said member or rocker 1 comprlses a rock shaft 2 from which rises an upstandlng arm or portion 3 near the iddle, while .from near Fig. 1, this return movement being assisted the member or rocker 1. The other or forward end of the. spring 7 is connected to an adjustable stationary anchorage or tension regulating device to which my invention particularly relates.

My novel tension regulating device coin- PIISGS' generally two elements having a threaded engagement and hand controlled so that one of said elements to which the spring is connected may be moved either to stretch or relax the spring through an actuation of the other of said elements. More specifically, these elements comprise an angular threaded member or screw and a thumb nut mounted thereon. The. threaded member, indicated as a whole by the numeral 8, comprises a body portion 9 that is screw threaded for the greater part of its length and an offset portion 10 which in this instance is bent from the forward end of the body portion and terminates in an eye 11 through which the forward end of the spring 7 is hooked, or the spring may be otherwise anchored or connected to the member 8. The body portion 9 is depressed and flattened at its outer or right-hand face,

viewed from the front, as indicated at 12.

This portion of the screw or threaded member passes through a hole or opening 13 1 formed in the lug 6, the diameter of said hole, which is not threaded, being large and a flange 17 at the rear end of the neck.

This flange is preferably seated in a depression or counter-sink-18 in the front face of the lug 6 and is retained within said coun tor-sink by a stationary part or forked piece 19 which'at its lower or forked end-loosely embraces the neck 15 and is securedat its upper end by a screw 20 to the front face of the lug 6. The construction is such that the thumb nut may be turned or rotated freely by means of the knurled portion 16 but is held against lengthwise movement on the threaded member 8, the forked part 19 oooperating with the flange 17 to prevent such movement forward, or toward the left in Fig. 2, and the bottom of the depression 18 preventing such'movement toward the right. In order that the rotation of the thumb nut 14 may effect endwise movement of the threaded member 8, means are provided for preventing rotary movement of said threaded member without interfering with its longitudinal movement. Preferably said means comprises a headed screw 21 which is threaded into the side of the lug 6 at the level of and at right angles to the hole 13, the screw 21 being turned in until its head contacts With the face of the lug, the shank of said screw being of such length that at this time its inner end which is preferably flattened, extends into the, depression 12 in the screw 8 but preferably not quite contacting with the bottom or flattened face of said depression when said face is parallel with the flat end of the shank of the screw, as shown in Fig. 2. The construction is such that to and fro endwise movement of the screw 8 will be limited by the engagement of the ends of the depression 12 with the sides of the screw 21, and consequently the maximum and minimum tension of the spring controlled.

The operation of the tension regulating device will be briefly described. Assuming the parts are related as in Fig. 2 and that it is desired to strengthen the spring 7, or increase its tension, the operator turns the knurled flnger'piece 16 in clockwise direction, causing a rotary movement of the thumb nut 14. Since the thumb nut, as has been explained, is held against any movement but one of rotation, the effect of this operation will be to move the member 8 longitudinally forward or toward the left in Fig. 2, the screw 21 preventing said member 8 from rotating. The result is that the anchorage proper or eye 11 is moved forward, or as in Fig. 2 leftward, and the spring 7 is consequently stretched so that its tension is increased, the extent of increase of course depending on the extent of longitudinal movement of the member 8. In Fig. 3 the member 8 is shown at the limit of its forward or leftward movement, this limit being determined by the engagement 'of the rear end or shoulder of the depression 12 with the side of the screw 21. If it is desired, on the other hand, to weaken the spring 7 the thumb piece 1a is turned in the opposite direction, thus causing a longitudinal movement of the screw member 8 rear ward, or toward the right in Figs. 2 and 3,

from my invention.

. 6 to form a seat, as at 18, which is partly covered by the straight fork 19, the construction may be modified as in Fig. 5. As there shown, the flange 17 abuts against the plane face of the lug 6 and is held from any substantial movement away from said face by a forked piece or part 22 which is bent or offset forward to clear the flange 17 and loosely embrace at its lower forked end the neck portion 15.0f the thumb nut 14:. The fork 22 is secured in place against the lug 6 by a screw 20 which passes through its upper end portion.

Other changes will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. For instance, the

screw 21 instead of being of a length such that it may be screwed in until arrested by contact of its head with the side of the lug 6, may be somewhat longer so that it can be screwed in until its flattened point or end bears against the bottom of the depression 12 while the head of the screw remains out of contact with the side of the lug. Inthis case it will of course be necessary to back ofl' the screw slightly whenever it may be desired to adjust the spring because in normal position the'screw will hold the member 8 against adjustment by a turning moveof adjustment that the spring tension may be varied to give the most advantageous results.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The combination with a part capable of movement and a coiled spring connected thereto, of an adjustable anchorage for said spring comprising a screw to which one end of said spring is connected, athumb nut mounted on said screw, a detachable station ary part cooperating with said thumb nut to prevent it from moving along said screw, and means for holding said screw against rotary movement while permitting endwise movement thereof.

2. The combination with a part capable of movement and a coiled spring connected thereto, of an adjustable anchorage for said spring comprising a screw to which one end. 7 of said spring is connected, a thumb nut mounted on said screw, a detachable stationary part cooperating withsaid thumb nut to prevent it from moving along said screw, and a set screw cooperative with a flattened to prevent rotary movement of said first recited screw to afford endwise movements thereof to an extent limited by the ends of said flattened depressed portion.

3. The combination with arocker and a coiled spring having one of its ends condepressed portion of said first recited screw neoted thereto, of an adjustable anchorage for said spring comprising an angular threaded member having an ofiset portion to which the opposite end of said coiled 5 spring is connected, a thumb nut mounted for rotation on the threaded portion of said member, a stationary fork partly embracing said thumb nut and assisting to prevent endWise movementthereof along said mem- 10 her, and a set screw cooperating'with a flattened depressed portion of said threaded member to prevent rotation while affording limited endwise movement thereof.

Signed at the borough of Manhattan, city of New York, in the county of New 15 York and State of New York, this 2nd day of January, A. D. 1919.

OSCAR WOODWARD.

Witness:

"CHARLES E. SMITH. 

